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Programs Help Recent Veterans Find Work

Like many people in the private sector, many new veterans are finding it very difficult to find work. This is especially true among veterans who have recently returned from an overseas deployment. The good news is there are special programs in place veterans can utilize to help them on the job hunt.

Recent veterans have an unemployment rate hovering at 11.5%, which is higher than the national average. For those veterans just a few years older, the numbers are even worse.

The unemployment rate for those veterans who separated from the military post-2001 is almost 30% higher than the national average. Multiple deployments for veterans over the last couple years prevent them from attending college courses, which puts them even further behind when they enter the civilian market and attempt to compete for jobs with recent graduates.

The federal government does offer a series of transition programs to help soldiers transition to the private sector even before they separate from the military. Aside from encouraging the use of the Post-9/11 GI Bill, the military provides a program available through the Transition Assistance Office. This program helps soldiers compose resumes, among other services.

Both the Department of Defense (DoD) and the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) provide online assistance, which provides information on job fairs, job openings, some educational programs, and composing resumes. Unemployed veterans become more attractive to employers through the Work Opportunity Tax Credit program, which gives tax credits of $2,400 - $4,800 to those companies hiring unemployed or disabled veterans, whose families use food stamps. Tax credits are also available for companies hiring veterans drawing unemployment benefits.